3GPP standards for cellular and WiFi interworking have been available since 3GPP Release 6, evolving in Release 8, and expanding in subsequent releases. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has also ratified the 802.11u standard, Amendment for “Interworking with External Networks” which addresses wireless local area network (WLAN) enhancements in subscription service provider networks (SSPNs), such as those operated by 3GPP MNOs. However, feature deployment has been limited even though these standards enable access to operator-provided services and mobility between cellular and WiFi. The reason for this could be that the current solutions are perceived as too complex or too costly to implement. Therefore, the standards are still striving to enable more value-added features with simpler cost-effective deployment options in order to drive increased adoption by MNOs. Accordingly, the proliferation of “small cell” deployments, network integration of small cell and WiFi access, may become more important and motivate the need for improved solutions.
Mobile network operators (MNOs) may provide subscribers with managed network access using both cellular and WiFi technologies. Currently, such MNOs typically consider WiFi and WLAN technologies only as a way to offload Internet-based traffic for their dual-mode subscribers. For instance, MNOs may configure certain handset applications to always use WiFi when available for Internet access (preferably in low mobility scenarios while they are within a WiFi hotspot). This approach reduces congestion on their cellular and core networks.
The operator policy and/or handset implementation may defer the offload for some services until it can be done in a non-disruptive manner, e.g., during idle periods or while the user is involved in other activities such as pausing to read an email. MNOs typically offer subscribers “best effort” service of offloaded WiFi traffic.